Everything and Nothing
by GiantInflatableWalrus
Summary: He was a man with nothing left, but he was willing to give up a little more. Short one shot.


Everything and Nothing.

_Disclaimer : Don't own a sodding thing :[_

_Vague wittering, very short one shot. I posted this a few months back and didn't really get any response, be it negative or positive, so I have altered some parts and swapped some stuff about; second time lucky? :) _

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There was a sale at New look that day, twenty percent off of all items - it was only going to last until the bank holiday- the rush for skinny jeans and smock tops was incredible. DFS flooded TV advertising space with the promise of three piece suites for less than it would cost to buy a toaster, and no payments until 2030 or some such rubbish; no one batted an eyelid at their proclamations of a sale anymore. How can a sofa be half price if it was never full price to start with? Exclusive photographs from the wedding of this months 'Top model' had appeared in OK!. They cost nearly £10,000 for the magazine to buy, but their obsessive readers bring them their profit, as though they would ever miss a chance to spot the signs of fat on the woman, to somehow prove 'she's just like us really! Look, she's fat too' – ignoring the fact she weighed in at about 3 ounces. Anything to keep themselves comfortably in denial.

While these people busied themselves with clothes that would stay in fashion for 3 months, sofas that would be covered in red wine and pot noodle stains within the week, overpriced mocha-whatevers, and slimming pills which would do little but empty their bank balance that bit quicker, they had no idea a war was being fought within their midst. They knew nothing of this war, they knew nothing of the people fighting it, or who they fought. But their lives depended on it's outcome.

The sun rose that day, just as it did every other day, and it would set that evening, as it always did. There was something mocking in it's consistency, when everything else had changed so dramatically. Nothing stayed the same – nothing was safe. He watched the sun's inevitable rise in the sky above the other flats, houses, the office blocks, restaurants and whatever else the muggles of England felt necessary to clutter their cities with. He had watched it's descent the night before, and had not slept between then and it's current state of rising. The mug of tea between his hands was slowly turning cold – his hands .. when had they gotten so old? When had _he_ gotten so old? Though he knew he was well into middle-age, he couldn't help still thinking of himself as the quiet marauder, lounging around in the Gryffindor common room.

Remus Lupin had gone straight from those carefree days into the war. That war that cost so many lives, which was being repeated now; all their efforts seemed to have been in vain, all their sacrifices made no difference. Those times had been full of betrayal and mistrust – anyone could be ready to hand you over to the death eaters, _anyone. _At least this time, Remus considered, he had no one to mistrust. He had no one. The last marauder, Remus had never let on how much he needed his friends, though he suspected they must have known, he would have given in long before this point without them. But they were gone, nearly all the marauders gone – The one who had turned the family of his close friend over to Voldemort. Said friends family, murdered, with one survivor, their son. And his closest friend, killed by a member of his own family. Now just him, the outsider, the freak – the half-breed. How was it fair, he wondered, he was still here when the others deserved to be here so much more? It barely mattered, it would not be long before the the marauders were together again, the death eaters would catch up with him soon, and he would join the list of the dead.

Out of habit Remus rinsed he mug under the tap in his cramped kitchen and placed it on the draining board upside down, handle to the left, as always, then had his 15 minute shower. He dressed in his usual shabby and battered clothes, muggle dress, not robes. No idea what work the Order would have, recruitment perhaps? Leaving his flat he heard the familiar bang of his door closing behind him, knowing it would lock itself and descended the 3 dingy staircases to the ground floor of the block of flats. From the building he entered the bustling world of ready made sandwiches, Big Brother and terrible musical artists who had yet to learn how to lip sync properly.

The muggles Remus passed on the street had no idea he was a man with nothing, who had lost everything, but was willing to lose a little more to keep their unsuspecting world safe – for as long as possible at least. This time when Remus left for an unknown mission, to face death eaters and any other foul thing that could be dreamed of, his desire to survive and his sense of self preservation had diminished. This time he may not go back to his flat . He may not see the sun rise and set again, as it always did. This time, he didn't care.

The model divorced within 6 months, many a single woman sympathized with her, though they had no idea why they had split up, or who was the blame . There was a health scare over mocha-loca-whatevers, no one drinks them anymore. There's hardly a teenage girl wandering around without new look skinny jeans, all pretending they cost at least £60, when everyone knows they were only £12. No one notices the absence of the man from flat 7b, with his untidy patched clothes. The man with nothing, who gave everything.

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_I was dying to have it a sort of RLSB affair, however I found my self restraint. _

_I know I've ignored Tonks .. I never quite got used to those two, I think I spent far too long going with the Sirius & Remus theme, it just seemed odd the consider him with a woman. Constructive criticism and general feedback. I've been over this damn thing time after time and I think I've weeded out all the typos and bizarrely placed commas, however I make no promises. _

_For anyone unfamiliar with New Look, DFS, etc:_

_New Look – Womens clothes shop, not badly priced but the sizes are weird. _

_DFS – Sofa shop. They constantly have a sale on ..... the sofas are nice though. _

_Ok! - Magazine, mainly aimed at women, all celebrities and such stuff. _

_Ta ta! _


End file.
